1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic seat belt apparatus in which a webbing is automatically applied around an occupant after he has seated himself, and more particularly to an automatic seat belt apparatus adapted to allow the position in which a slider stops to vary in accordance with the physique of each individual occupant.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A type of automatic seat belt apparatus in which a webbing is automatically placed around or removed from the body of an occupant has been previously disclosed (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 28552/1980). In this apparatus, one end of a webbing is wound up by a retractor disposed at the center of the vehicle and the other end is engaged with a slider which is slidable in the fore and aft direction of the vehicle along a guide rail disposed in the vicinity of a side edge of the roof of the vehicle and in which the webbing is fitted or removed by moving the slider.
When the slider is moved along the guide rail toward the front of the vehicle, sufficient space to allow the occupant to get into the vehicle is formed between the intermediate portion of the webbing and the seat. After the occupant is seated, the slider is moved toward the rear of the vehicle along the guide rail, thus fitting the webbing around the occupant's body.
The slider is stopped at a position in which the webbing is suitably applied around the occupant. This position is detected by a limit switch which acts to stop the slider. This limit switch is attached to the guide rail in a predetermined position (adapted for occupants of average physique), and therefore there is a possibility of the webbing being applied in an unsuitable state if an occupant whose physique differs from the norm enters the vehicle.
To eliminate this problem, a form of construction has been proposed in which the position at which the limit switch is attached can be varied (U.S. patent application No. 903,246 U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,347). This construction ensures that the webbing is placed in the most suitable position by allowing the position of the limit switch to be preliminarily adjusted in accordance with the physique of an individual occupant.
In this proposal, however, a holder for supporting the slider when the webbing is applied around the occupant is formed by being bent from a plate is mounted on a reinforcement member fixed to the vehicle, the opposite ends of the holder thereby bent being accommodated in grooves formed in the reinforcement member. Consequently, there is a risk of reduction in the level of the supportable load due to the deformation of the holder if the thickness of the holder is small.